Reflections on climbing Mt Kilimanjaro

In the last 3 weeks I retired from EY ( given our mandatory retirement age for partners of 60), got married To the incomparable Rob Evans and started a month long honeymoon in Africa.

The first leg of the trip was to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, at 19000 ft the tallest in Africa, the top of the world and, an experience beyond belief. One that gives new meaning to a “once in a lifetime” experience.

And what an experience. Majestic awesome massive unforgettable and beyond extreme challenging. In Swahili “pole, pole” means slowly slowly. We had a climbing crew of 25 to support Rob and me. And they were climbing with 20 kilos of gear and food and water on their heads. And we climbed 7-13 hours a day up up up up waterfalls down waterfalls across waterfalls up rock walls through lava tubes up gravel dunes ascending through rain forests, savannah’s and arctic moonscapes through sun rain clouds hail snow. Pole pole. In fact you don’t climb up Kilimanjaro, you crawl up it. Particularly the last 9 hour push to the summit. In fact. In the last 3 hours the only pace that worked for me was lunging in order to maximize the strength of my large leg muscles. One lunge and a deep breath. Then stop for two breaths and rest. Then another lunge…

Our crew was so happy that we made it. On the way down they baked a wedding cake for us at a rest atop and sang and danced a story about our climb and our new life together. Once we got to the base , we presented the crew with gifts tips and sang them ” You never walk alone” from Carousel. Then the entire crew piled into a rickety bus with us and drove two hours to our lodge and the entire lodge staff was waiting outside and everybody started singing and dancing again, climbing crew and lodge staff narrating and celebrating the story of the climb.

There were many personal lessons to learn on the mountain. Many we have yet to fully understand and digest. Several however stand out to me 72 hours layer as we recover our strength on a beautiful African day on the island of Zanzibar. Our lead guide kept telling us that we will conquer the mountain because we are conquerors so “pull up our socks” and keep walking. Wise rob said he had a different idea. We were not there to conquer the mountain. Rather we were there to borrow just a little of the mountains strength, endurance and wisdom from having stood on that place for tens of millions of years. Kilimanjaro means difficult journey and the mountain has wept for many.

"Pole, pole" slowly slowly. For someone who has lived a fast paced life with an eye to the future, I would like to embrace the concept of slowing down to fully absorb the miracle and gifts of the present.

II was so ready to call it quits 2 hours from the summit. I was beyond spent. I couldn’t catch my breath if I took more than one step. My heart was pounding. And I knew I had 4 hours to just get down to base camp over treacherous territory and I had no juice left. Rob called an audible and lead a conference with our guides and me. Did I have signs of altitude sickness? Would be be able to finish the descent In daylight? Did we have headlamps? Could I find apace that would allow me to control my breathing and heart rate? He reminded us that JFK said we would “put a man on the moon AND get him back”. Most people die on Everest during the descent and we saw several people that day being hustled down the mountain in scary makeshift gurneys. Planning for the entire journey is required!

There were also some strategic, tactical and practical lessons to share with potential climbers.

Strategic: conventional wisdom has climbers making their ascent (6-8 hours) to the summit from Barrafu (snow in Swahili) camp at midnight getting to the summit at daybreak and then coming down to Mweke camp (about 8 hours) in order to avoid snowmelt from the glacier on the ascent. However that means climbing up steep inclines in the cold and dark. Unfortunately, the glacier has melted considerably and our guides arranged for us to climb at the dawn - considerably more bearable. However this did mean that we did two days worth of climbing in one day the day before ( about 11 hours from barranca to Barrafu camps)

Tactical: a successful climb is not just about strength, endurance and altitude adaptability (although take the preclimb training seriously with cardio, weights and lunges). The determination and will not to give up and the ability to listen to the parts of your body and psyche that will serve you well are also critical elements. Knowing how to breathe, meditate, and travel deep inside as you climb steeply for hours, pole pole, are essential tools.

Practical: we travelled with Micato (excellent company) who provided a great expedition packing list. Here are a few items that became saviors for me.
- a warm headband that never came off
- a poly fiber jacket with a hood that I wore 7/24 
- enough warm layers including a light down jacket ( think ski mountain not Africa)
- plastic bags for all clothes and sleeping bag so everything stays dry
- rain poncho that will cover you and your day pack
- camelbak, not water bottles

And on a lighter note. “Hakuna Matata” no worries really is a phrase that real people say - a lot! Not just in the lion king!!!!